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'Above All Else' doc pits Texan vs. pipeline

An exclusive clip featuring Texas activist David Daniel and more than 1,200 others being arrested for protesting a controversial pipeline from "Above All Else," premiering at the South by Southwest Film Festival.
Immigrant Workers Films

Directed by John Fiege, the documentary Above All Else follows David Daniel and his East Texas neighbors as they try to prevent controversial construction from crossing their land. The film has its world premiere at the upcoming South by Southwest Film Festival (March 7-15) in Austin.

The Keystone XL pipeline is a multimillion-dollar project first proposed in 2008 to transport tar sands oil from Canada through six American states and into the refineries on Texas' Gulf Coast, and consequently it became a major enemy of environmentalists concerned about climate change.

The pipeline also stirred up rancor in Daniel, a former stuntman, who rounded up his rural neighbors and activists to build a tree-top blockade during four tense days in September 2012.

One name involved that people might recognize: Daryl Hannah, who acts as a producer on Above All Else. Currently editing her own documentary about human trafficking, Hannah was arrested in February 2013 outside of the White House when leading a celebrity protest of the Keystone pipeline.